Benoit Pioulard

On his second full length for Kranky, Thomas Meluch (better known as Benoit Pioulard) sticks with his winning formula of darkly shaded Laptop pop and atmospheric electronics. Meluch's aesthetics remain hushed but at the same time fill a room with his swirling microcosm of creaks and close mic-ed strums, and of course his mournful but pleasing croon anchored squarely to the top of the mix. His recordings have a way of being both pleasingly catchy and subdued at the same time, and Temper doesn't stray from this pattern. Few artists can evoke both Boards of Canada and Iron and Wine without sounding muddled or stretched. Meluch on the other had finds the tenuous balance between the worlds of melody and atmosphere and he lives there most comfortably. The two halves of this record represent two halves of this year, one half spent at his home in Michigan and the other after moving to Oregon. There remains a pretty obvious shift in tone between the two halves with the latter being much more upbeat, but just as with his balance of aesthetics, this shift in tone happens so fluidly that it seems only natural. A beautifully serene life journey that Meluch invites you to take along with him.

Download:
[MP3] Benoit Pioulard - Ahn
[MP3] Benoit Pioulard - A Woolgathering Exodus

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE